Law Commons^™

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Commercial Law, Michael J. Herbert

University of Richmond Law Review

It has been a quiet year in the Commonwealth of Virginia, at least in the area of commercial law. There have been only a smattering of cases, for the most part routine, and slight amendments to Virginia's Uniform Commercial Code (the "Code"). The most significant commercial law development occurred neither in the General Assembly nor the courts, but at the Federal Trade Commission, which is again busying itself with the regulation of consumer credit.

Recent Developments In Virginia Workers' Compensation And Other Employment Laws, Janice R. Moore

University of Richmond Law Review

This survey covers Virginia court decisions affecting the employment relation directly or indirectly, including the Virginia Supreme Court, the Virginia Court of Appeals, and published decisions of various circuit courts. Because this subject area has not been included in earlier surveys of Virginia law, this survey covers the years 1985 and 1986. During this time, Virginia courts have interpreted the rights and duties of employers and employees under the workers' compensation and unemployment compensation statutes; they have examined the remedies available under Virginia law for allegedly tortious conduct in the context of a labor dispute; they have reexamined the employment-at-will …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Legal Issues Involving Children, Robert E. Shepherd Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

After unusual activity at both the federal and state levels in the previous year, this past year was a relatively uneventful one where the law of juvenile delinquency was concerned. The historic jail removal legislation enacted at the 1985 session of the Virginia General Assembly became fully effective on July 1, 1986. The provisions of this legislation severely limit the use of an adult jail for juvenile detention purposes and completely ban the dispositional use of such a facility for juveniles.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Wills, Trusts, And Estates, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

The 1986 session of the General Assembly passed eight bills dealing with wills, trusts, and estates. In addition to this legislation, there were four cases from the Virginia Supreme Court and one case from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during the past year that involved issues of interest to both the general practitioner and the specialist in wills, trusts, and estates. This article reviews all of these legislative and judicial developments. In order to facilitate the discussion of numerous Virginia Code sections they will be referred to in the text by their section numbers only. These section numbers will …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Property, W. Wade Berryhill

University of Richmond Law Review

The 1986 General Assembly may be remembered as much for what it did not do as for what it did. Carried over into the next session was House Bill 810, which would have abolished dower and curtesy in favor of a statutory share for the surviving spouse in the deceased spouse's estate. Of course, passage of this bill would have ushered in significant change in the practice of decedents' estates. Significantly, passage of the bill also would have legislatively overruled recent judicial and legislative activity which has created the sole and separate estate, for both female and male, allowing circumvention …

Lowe V. Sec: Investment Advisors Act Of 1940 Clashes With First Amendment Guarantees Of Free Speech And Press, Stacy P. Thompson

University of Richmond Law Review

In the wake of mounting controversy over whether federal securities laws can withstand first amendment scrutiny, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Lowe v. SEC to consider whether the first amendment prohibits an injunction against publication and distribution of an investment advisory newsletter by an unregistered investment advisor. However, the Court bypassed this constitutional question, and instead adopted a statutory construction of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Act") that excluded Lowe's newsletters as "bonafide financial publications" of general circulation under section 80(b)- 2(a)(11)(D). The majority ruled that the petitioners were not investment advisers, and therefore did …

The Purchase Money Security Interest In Inventory Versus The After-Acquired Property Interest-A "No Win" Situation, Nathaniel Hansford

University of Richmond Law Review

Extending credit entails risk. Seldom is a creditor absolutely assured of complete payment of his debt. Not only is there a risk in almost every loan, but the types of risks that must be weighed are manifold. The debtor may be a poor business person and never make a profit sufficient to repay the debt. The debtor class is replete with scoundrels and outright crooks who borrow money without any intention to service the debt. The economy may slump to such a degree that even astute business persons are pressed to pay their outstanding obligations. The creditor's collateral may deteriorate …

The Status Of The At-Will Employment Doctrine In Virginia After Bowman V. State Bank Of Keysville, Gary S. Marshall, Maris M. Wicker

University of Richmond Law Review

The development of the employment-at-will doctrine has tracked the changing character of the work force from the days of simple master-servant domestic relations to the commercial realities of twentieth-century industrial capitalism. The rule grew out of the humane principle that it would be unjust to employ a laborer during the planting and harvesting months, only to discharge that laborer during the harsh winter. Hence, the realities of the agrarian economy of the British Isles and the closeness of the master and domestic servant relationship shaped the yearly hiring rule. This rule developed into a presumption that a hiring for an …

Casting Stones: The Role Of Fault In Virginia Divorce Proceedings, Donald K. Butler, Marilyn D. Russell

University of Richmond Law Review

The national trend is toward eliminating fault as a factor in many aspects of divorce, and in some states it plays virtually no role at all. However, Virginia is among those few remaining states where fault is potentially involved in every aspect of a divorce case.

The Changing Focus Of Peer Review Under Medicare, Peter M. Mellette

University of Richmond Law Review

Consumers today rely on both physicians and the federal government for health care services. A consumer/patient's visit to a physician is the usual method of access to such services. After examining the patient, the physician will typically send the patient home with a prescription for medication or refer the patient for admission to an appropriate health care provider, such as a hospital. In either instance, the patient incurs medical bills. If the patient is age sixty-five or older, the federal government probably pays for most of those bills through the Medicare program.

Voice Spectrography Evidence: Approaches To Admissibility, Sharon E. Gregory

University of Richmond Law Review

The admissibility of the results of voiceprint' analysis as evidence in a criminal trial has received a great deal of attention in the last ten years, both from legal scholars and in the courts. Although a relative newcomer to the field of forensic science, voice spectrography is not a recent development in the field of evidence; Wigmore foresaw the use of a voiceprint as early as 1937, when he suggested that the individuality of a person's voice provided a possible means of speaker identification.

Federal And State Remedies To Clean Up Hazardous Waste Sites, Janis L. Kirkland, James A. Thornhill

University of Richmond Law Review

Over fifty-seven million metric tons of hazardous waste are produced as a by-product of manufacturing in the United States each year. Only ten percent of this waste is disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. The improper disposal of hazardous waste has given rise to crisis areas of national notoriety such as "Love Canal" and "Valley of the Drums." Although the danger to public health and the environment cannot be precisely calculated, the disposal of hazardous waste presents a problem that can no longer be ignored. Virginia's own experience with kepone contamination in the James River exemplifies the dangers and …

Products Liability: The Continued Viability Of The Learned Intermediary Rule As It Applies To Product Warnings For Prescription Drugs, Barbara Pope Flannagan

University of Richmond Law Review

Judicial decisions, as well as statutory enactments, have removed many of the traditional stumbling blocks which formerly hampered an injured plaintiff's recovery against the manufacturer of a defective product. Concomitantly, the past few decades have seen a dramatic increase in the number of product liability suits brought by injured consumers directly against manufacturers. These product liability suits have involved the full range of manufactured products and have proceeded under three basic theories of recovery. While no single type of product, either because of its use or purpose, has been immune from products liability suits, some types of products have special …

Aids And Employment Discrimination Under The Federal Rehabilitation Act Of 1973 And Virginia's Rights Of Persons With Disabilities Act, Leisa Y. Kube

University of Richmond Law Review

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a fatal illness that attacks the immune system, rendering it incapable of defending the body from a variety of rare infections. In the United States, the syndrome was first observed in 1979 in isolated cases in major metropolitan areas. At that time, it affected a limited group of people, mainly homosexual men and drug abusers. Faced with a deadly illness whose cause and mode of transmission were unknown, the public understandably reacted with fear. Many AIDS victims were shunned from schools, workplaces, housing, courts, and medical facilities.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Of Laws, Men, And Judges, D. Dortch Warriner

University of Richmond Law Review

This essay was originally delivered by Judge Warriner as a speech on March 19, 1985, at the T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond. Copyright 1985 by D. Dortch Warriner, all rights reserved.

To Bare Or Not To Bare: The Constitutionality Of Local Ordinances Banning Nude Sunbathing, Richard B. Kellam, Teri Scott Lovelace

University of Richmond Law Review

One of America's favorite and most popular summertime activities is sunbathing. Millions of Americans enjoy this recreational pastime each year. Sunbathing is a form of relaxation shared by all people, regardless of economic or social status in society. In recent years, the social nudism movement has grown and gained considerable support. One statistic boasts that approximately thirty-three million people have, at some time in their lives, engaged in social nudism in one form or another. As a result of this growth, nudist groups have become highly organized national associations with local chapters throughout the country. It is through these national …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Administrative Procedure, John Paul Jones

University of Richmond Law Review

Since the last report, administrative law in Virginia has continued to develop on both the legislative and judicial fronts. This year's General Assembly enacted amendments to the state's administrative procedure statute which embody the third and final round of recommendations by the Governor's Regulatory Reform Advisory Board. The major changes were the standardization of procedures for obtaining judicial review of state agency action and the embodiment in statute of a corps of independent hearing officers.

Note: This submission also includes a small preface from the Law Review Editorial Staff.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Civil Procedure And Practice, W. Hamilton Bryson

University of Richmond Law Review

This article considers recent developments in the field of Virginia civil procedure and practice, including statutes, rules of court, and opinions of the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Court of Appeals of Virginia that have appeared between May 1985 and May 1986. This article also comments on cases in volumes three and four of Virginia Circuit Court Opinions, many of which were decided before 1985, but it is appropriate to mention them here since they were only recently made generally available through publication.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Criminal Law, Richard A. Williamson

University of Richmond Law Review

Effective January 1, 1985, the Court of Appeals of Virginia was established. The new intermediate appellate court possesses exclusive jurisdiction over appeals from any final judgment of conviction in a circuit court for a traffic violation or a crime, except where a sentence of death is imposed. The operation of the court of appeals is likely to have a twofold effect on the criminal justice system. First, it should reduce the current backlog of cases in the supreme court; second, it should produce an increase in the number of reported criminal decisions, thereby facilitating an understanding of criminal law and …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Virginia Criminal Procedure, Ronald J. Bacigal

University of Richmond Law Review

Reversing a recent trend, the past year was relatively quiet with respect to search and seizure cases. The United States Supreme Court decided two cases dealing with open fields and the curtilage of a dwelling. Dow Chemical Co. v. United States held that the open areas of an industrial plant complex with numerous plant structures spread over an area of 2,000 acres are not analogous to the "curtilage" of a dwelling for purposes of aerial surveillance; such an industrial complex "is more comparable to an open field and as such is open to the view and observation of persons in …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Taxation, Carle E. Davis

University of Richmond Law Review

In contrast to tax reform efforts in the federal arena, the Virginia General Assembly made relatively few changes to Title 58.1 of the Code of Virginia (the "Code"). The General Assembly enacted a number of miscellaneous bills, the most important of which affected the sales and use tax, and the real estate and recordation taxes. The Virginia Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit were likewise quiet in the area of Virginia taxation and rendered only three decisions, none of which is of major significance. After publishing numerous regulations in 1985, the Virginia Department of Taxation …

Virginia's Jury Exemptions: Ripe For Reform, T. S. Ellis Iii, J. Thomas O'Brien Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

Jury exemptions are frequent targets of derisory comment. Who among us has not heard of the proverbial litigant who, upon hearing his lawyer describe juries and jury exemptions, remarked that only a fool would place his fate in the hands of seven or twelve people who were not smart enough to get excused through an exemption. Indeed, the number and scope of jury exemptions have grown so substantially over the years that it is not unreasonable to suppose that jury non-service is now the norm and jury service the exception.

University Of Richmond Law Review Index

University of Richmond Law Review

This is the Index for Law Review Vol. XX.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Tribute To Willard I. Walker, Murray H. Wright

University of Richmond Law Review

The University of Richmond Law Review respectfully dedicates this issue to the memory of Willard I. Walker, 1929-1986. Judge Walker had served as a Virginia Circuit Court Judge for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit for more than ten years before his untimely death. He received his law degree from Washington and Lee University in 1956. Judge Walker practiced law in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia, before his appointment to the bench. As an adjunct faculty member, Judge Walker inspired law students at both the T.C. Williams School of Law and the University of Virginia. The pages that follow serve as a tribute …

The "Fresh Start" Policy In Consumer Bankruptcy: A Historical Inventory And An Interpretive Theory, Charles G. Hallinan

University of Richmond Law Review

In part II, the article traces the historical development of the idea of providing relief to troubled debtors in bankruptcy, an idea usually summarized as the "fresh start" policy of bankruptcy law. The article catalogs and describes the empirical assumptions and normative judgments underlying the various explanations offered for the availability of a discharge or "fresh start" in bankruptcy. In part II, the article examines the existing Bankruptcy Code in the light of these various theories. The article concludes that the Code's debtor relief provisions are best understood as a form of compulsory insurance for debtors. The nature of insurance …

Virginia Should Open Its Courthouse Doors To Review Administrative Decisions Involving Public Assistance, Christopher Allen Stump, Jill A. Hanken

University of Richmond Law Review

Virginia's courts interpret the Virginia Administrative Process Act (VAPA) to prohibit judicial review of administrative decisions that grant or deny public assistance funds. Virginia is therefore one of only three states which fail to provide judicial review of such decisions. This article advocates judicial review of public assistance hearing decisions on the basis of principles of statutory construction and constitutional law. The article concludes that Virginia's minority status indicates a failure to meet traditional notions of fairness.

Landlord Liability For Crimes Committed By Third Parties Against Tenants, C. Stephen Setliff

University of Richmond Law Review

A landlord's potential liability for crimes committed by third parties against tenants has been a dynamic and expanding area of the law since 1970. While several jurisdictions have been reluctant to expand the landlord's liability to his tenant, other courts have found the landlord liable for criminal acts based upon tort and contract principles.